US shale producers add to India's luck with oil

With shale oil production returning to growth this year, major turnaround in oil prices is unlikely

The National Democratic Alliance government came to power in May 2014 with big luck in oil. The stunning fall in oil prices, from a high of $115 a barrel in the beginning of that year to under $35 a barrel at the end of February 2016, relieved Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of two big worries: inflation and subsidies.

India, which is 82 per cent dependent on imports for oil, saw its petroleum import bill, including oil and petroleum products, rising 9 per cent to $80.3 billion on the back of a 7 per cent increase in volume of imports